Kasmaal  Independent Somali news and analysis website .

A French court has ruled that it is now illegal for drivers to use mobile phones in their cars even when they have stopped, pulled over or have the hazard lights on. In fact, drivers can be punished for using a mobile any time the vehicle isn’t parked in a designated parking area, including a […]

The Iraqi government has placed the name of late Saddam Hussein’s daughter, Raghad, on the most wanted list, together with 59 other individuals. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with his aid Ezzat al-Douri [File photo/Reuters] The 60 people are wanted on suspicion of belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL, also known […]

President Moon Jae in is expected to meet spontaneously with North Korea’s ceremonial head of state set to visit South Korea this week to attend the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, but it has yet to be decided whether the two will hold a one-on-one meeting, officials said Monday.  The North notified the South on Sunday night that Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, will visit the South from Friday to Sunday as head of a high-level delegation to the Winter Olympics set to kick off on Friday.  “President Moon will be meeting with Kim, beginning with the Olympic opening ceremony,” an official of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae told Yonhap News Agency, referring to spontaneous encounters they are expected to have during Olympic events that both will be attending.  “But it is something that should be discussed with the North’s advance delegation whether Kim will separately pay a visit to President Moon,” the official said. Another Cheong Wa Dae official also said it has not been decided yet whether Moon will hold a one-on-one meeting with Kim.  Kim is expected to attend Friday’s opening ceremony as well as a preliminary round match of a unified women’s ice hockey team of the two Koreas on Saturday. On Sunday, he is expected to attend a performance that the North’s art troupe will be holding in Seoul.  “There has been no specific request from the North for a meeting (with Moon) yet,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said. But the official said the North’s decision to send Kim is believed to have been made out of “goodwill.”  “The fact that North Korea’s constitutional head of state is coming not only sends a message to the South, but it also includes a message to overseas countries,” the official said. (Yonhap) Source:koreatimes.co.kr

Terrorist attacks have inflicted heavy casualties upon Afghan and Pakistani nations. The Taliban and Haqqani network carried out large-scale attacks in Afghanistan within the last years, which generated a tension between Afghan-Pak officials. With escalated militancy, a blame game ushered in between Kabul and Islamabad. Afghan and Pakistani nations bore the brunt of casualties as […]

A picture taken on February 3, 2018, shows smoke billowing from the site of a downed Sukhoi-25 fighter jet in Syria’s northwest province of Idlib © Omar Haj Kadour / AFP Citing a Russian Defense Ministry source, the Novaya Gazeta newspaper confirmed the deceased pilot was Filippov. According to the report, he was a former […]

The Amtrak train that collided Sunday morning with a freight train and killed two people appeared to be on the wrong track, possibly because a switch was in the wrong position, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster and state officials said Sunday. Invesigators now are trying to determine if the switch was misaligned, causing the passenger train […]

Thousands have descended from every corner of Greece at Syntagma Square in the center of Athens for the rally on Macedonia. Rally spokesman Michalis Patsikas told reporters that “it will be majestic. This has never happened before.” The keynote speaker at the rally will be the famous composer Mikis Theodorakis. Theodorakis arriving for the rally […]

The United States’ new nuclear policy brings humanity “closer to annihilation”, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said. © Atta Kenare, AFP His comments late Saturday came a day after the Pentagon revealed plans to revamp its nuclear arsenal, largely in response to a perceived renewed threat from Russia. Zarif said the new policy was “in violation” […]

Turkey says it has suffered its deadliest day yet in northern Syria since launching its offensive against YPG Kurdish fighters there more than two weeks ago. A funeral was held for a Turkish soldier who was killed in clashes with the YPG at Afrin in January [File: Edem Sahin/EPA] A funeral was held for a Turkish soldier […]

Thousands of Corsican nationalists marched on Saturday demanding greater freedoms for the French island, three days ahead of a visit by President Emmanuel Macron. The marchers are demanding greater autonomy for the island. Pascal Pochard-Casabianca/AFP Protest organisers said up to 25,000 people attended the demonstration in the island’s capital Ajaccio, but officials gave a far […]